Night Swimming – Poison Berry
Bath dream-pop quintet Night Swimming have announced their second EP, Melting, Sometimes Bleeding, due May 22 via Venn Records, and “Poison Berry” is the lead single. Produced by longtime collaborator Peter Miles and mastered by Simon Scott of Slowdive, it’s a precise piece of work — gauzy, contained, and deliberately tense.
The track builds around a steady rhythmic pulse with close-knit instrumentation that supports vocalist Meg Jones rather than crowding her. Nothing breaks away sharply. The arrangement holds its shape the whole way through, and that restraint is the point. Jones describes the song as coming from her experiences with men in relationships and her awareness of the dynamics she’s drawn to. “It details the state of being acutely aware of your partner’s emotions, although they seem distant, and the loneliness — or bitterness — of feeling like that isn’t reciprocated”, she says. Her delivery matches the lyrics exactly: present, careful, watching rather than reacting.
The one-take video, directed by Jay Bartlett, was shot using a continuous tracking camera that pans across different scenarios in a confined space. Expressions change — frustration, despondency, anger — but the setting never does. It’s the same trap the song is describing.
Since their 2024 debut No Place To Land, Night Swimming have built a reputation in UK shoegaze and dream-pop circles, earning BBC 6 Music airplay and touring with Miki Berenyi. This spring they’re supporting Chapterhouse, and they’ll play ArcTanGent Festival in August.
Tracklist:
- Nothing Safe Is Technicolour
- Submarine
- Poison Berry
- Hope and Wavering
- Dark Clouds
